Prostatitis includes infectious and noninfectious inflammatory phenotypes that can impair male reproductive potential and may influence couple-level reproduction via seminal inflammatory and microbial exposure. This review summarizes mechanisms linking prostatic inflammation and dysbiosis to semen dysfunction and sperm DNA damage and proposes an infertility-oriented diagnostic and management framework. This is a narrative review of clinical and translational evidence addressing semen inflammation, oxidative stress, sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF), microbiome signatures, and reproductive outcomes in prostatitis (National Institutes of Health (NIH) categories I-IV). Across prostatitis phenotypes, leukocytospermia and elevated seminal cytokines (especially interleukin-8) are associated with impaired motility, altered viscosity and liquefaction, oxidative stress, and higher SDF. Persistent infection or dysbiosis may sustain immune activation and redox injury, while ductal remodeling and pain-related sexual dysfunction can further reduce natural conception. Seminal cytokines and microbes may affect female reproductive tract biology, although clinical outcome data remain limited. Prostatitis-related infertility requires evaluation beyond routine semen analysis. A biomarker-guided workup integrating inflammatory markers, oxidative stress testing, targeted microbiology (culture plus nucleic acid amplification tests when indicated), SDF testing in selected men, and imaging when obstruction is suspected can identify treatable drivers and guide timing and selection of assisted reproduction strategies. Future studies should standardize fertility endpoints and validate biomarker-guided and microbiome-directed interventions.
Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland). 2026 Feb 28*** epublish ***
Aris Kaltsas, Nikolaos Pantazis, Vasileios Tzikoulis, Christos Roidos, Natalia Palapela, Chara Tsiampali, Evangelos N Symeonidis, Athanasios Zachariou, Nikolaos Sofikitis, Fotios Dimitriadis
Third Department of Urology, Attikon University Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece., First Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece., Medical Faculty, Medical University of Sofia, 1431 Sofia, Bulgaria., Independent Researcher, 55131 Thessaloniki, Greece., Department of Urology II, European Interbalkan Medical Center, 55535 Thessaloniki, Greece., Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece.